


Perilous Patrol

by crab2



Category: Purple Hyacinth - Ephemerys & Sophism (Webcomic), Purple Hyacinth Webcomic
Genre: kieran is a simp because why not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:40:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27153958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crab2/pseuds/crab2
Summary: It's just a normal morning in the Eleventh Precinct for Kieran, until the patrol unit comes bursting in with an injured officer.
Relationships: Lauren Sinclair/Kieran White, William Hawkes/Kym Ladell
Comments: 6
Kudos: 120





	Perilous Patrol

**Author's Note:**

> Me: Wow Lauren and Kieran go through so much! They really deserve a break!  
> Also me: Lmao what if Lauren got shot?
> 
> Enjoy!

Kieran pushed open the stairwell door and stepped out into the lobby of the Eleventh Precinct. He had some files to deliver to the main desk, and after a quick glance around the room to find that it was empty, he crossed the floor and dropped them off in the inbox. Most of the office was empty, the patrol unit having left for their rounds earlier that morning. Kieran turned back around and to his surprise, found that he was no longer alone. Somehow, someone had managed to sneak up on him, which was strange enough in its own right, even stranger still when Kieran realized that the someone was Chief Tristan Sinclair. 

"Chief Sinclair! So nice to meet you! I'm-"

"Kieran White! The new archivist, if I'm not mistaken. It's good to meet you! I had a meeting with the Captain earlier and figured I might as well welcome you to the force while I was around."

Kieran couldn't help but feel intimidated by the man standing before him. The chief of police, and Lauren's uncle. Somehow, Kieran was more scared of him for the latter reason. Kieran couldn't help but wonder if Tristan had somehow heard about him "dating" Lauren. 

"Ah, yes that's right, I'm the new archivist! Thank you for taking the time to welcome me! You really didn't have to though, I'm sure you have a very busy schedule."

"In all honesty, White, I'm glad of the chance to take a quick break! Between you and I, meetings with the Captain can be rather draining."

The two men shared a chuckle and Kieran leaned back against the receptionist's desk, attempting to appear at ease when he was anything but. Kieran was saved from having to conjure up some excuse to slip away by the sudden squawk of radio static that came from within Tristan's uniform jacket. Voices burst through the small device with a vicious and panicked sound like the buzzing of angry bees. Kieran only caught a few words, muffled as they were by Tristan's thick coat, but they were enough to make his heart stop. 

"Armed robbery… In pursuit…." The channel cut out again for but a moment, and then suddenly it was alive with chaos.

"Shots fired! We have an officer down! We need medics on standby for our return to the precinct!" 

Tristan's eyes widened and he ripped his radio from inside his coat. The channel had gone silent and somehow that was much worse than the yelling. The two men stood there, statue still, as the lobby was thrown into chaos around them. Two nurses entered from the medical wing with a stretcher and first aid kit in tow. Officers from both the detective and forensics units poured in from the stairwell, having heard the commotion over their own radios. And then came the patrol unit. Or at least, most of the patrol unit.

"Is everyone alright? Do we have everyone?" Roared officer Randall at the group that followed through the doors behind him. Tristan stepped forward and the room fell silent.

"Who was shot? Who are the medics for?" No one answered the chief.

"WELL?" The lobby remained silent but for the shaking breaths of the officers. Kieran's eyes swept over the haggard group, and that was when he noticed it. The absence of red hair and piercing golden eyes. His breath hitched and he pushed forward into the center of the room and next to the chief. 

"Where's Lauren?" Kieran hated how his voice cracked. No one answered. He felt his heart drop into his stomach and he staggered forward. The door to the lobby burst open once again and the patrol unit split down the middle to clear a path for the three newcomers. Kieran couldn't bring himself to care that he hadn't even noticed the Sergeant and Lieutenant hadn't returned with the group. There were tears racing down both of their faces, and their eyes were wild. They were dragging Lauren between them, her arms slung over their shoulders, her feet skimming the ground as she was pulled inside. Blood. There was blood dripping from her stomach and onto the carpet.

"MEDICS! WE NEED MEDICS FOR OFFICER SINCLAIR!" Will screamed. The two nurses rushed forward with the stretcher. Kym and Will lowered her shakily onto the stretcher and the nurses immediately set to work. Tristan pushed forward and dropped to the ground beside Lauren.

"Lieutenant, what happened?" He demanded. Will met his eyes, a haunted look plastered on his face.

"There was a robbery in the square. We went after the criminals but...but they got around the corner and I wasn't thinking and I-I just followed them like an idiot a-and… damn it all the bullet was meant for me! It was meant for me and she took it anyway! Sh-she-"

"It doesn't matter Will! Is she going to be okay?" Kym cut off the Lieutenant's panicked ramblings to ask the medics. One of them replied steadily, eyes still on the wound.

"I don't know. We need to stabilize her as soon as possible and-" Kieran didn't hear the rest, nor did he remember when he ended up beside Lauren on the ground, next to her uncle, but somehow he was there.

"Lauren. Lauren! Hey, come on, open your eyes. Please, Lauren come on." Kieran was not a man who begged, but he was willing to make an exception, just this once. Her eyes slid open weakly and a shaking hand reached up to his face. She gave a weak laugh.

'H-hey, Kieran." Kieran grabbed her hand and held on as if he were the only thing holding her down to Earth. He very well may have been. Suddenly, the nurses were lifting the stretcher and carrying her towards the medical wing. Away from him. Kieran was forced to release her hand and nothing had ever felt so wrong in his life. He stared at the dark stain on the carpet that was her blood. The lobby was silent and he could feel Tristan's eyes from beside him. He didn't care. Kieran could only watch as his other half was carried away.

\-------------------------

An hour and a half later found the Sargent, Lieutenant, Chief, and the Archivist in the hallway outside of the nurses office. Will was sitting on the floor against the wall, head in his hands, blonde hair flopped over his eyes. Kym leaned against the wall beside him, and Tristan paced the length of the hallway for what must have been the hundredth time. Kieran's hands formed a fist as he tried to control his shaking. No matter what he did, he couldn't keep his mind from straying into the room across from him. Never had he been so anxious for news before. When the suffocating silence was finally broken, Kieran was grateful to be able to escape from the whirlwind of his thoughts.

"I didn't know you were so close with my niece, Mr. White." Tristan met Kieran's eyes with his statement, eyebrows raised in challenge. He felt Kym and Will's eyes on him as well, wondering what he would tell the Chief. Kieran gulped and took a deep breath before answering.

"I...We're dating." The statement felt strangely right coming from his lips, even though he knew it to be a lie.

"Really? And why have I not heard of this?"

"Ah… that. We didn't want it to interfere with the hiring process within the Precinct." The Chief chuckled at this and gave a small shake of his head.

"I suppose she always was rather against special treatment. How long have you two been together?"

"A couple of months." Tristan gave an approving nod, his face betraying only a hint of surprise, and turned away, leaving Kieran to wonder at the strange feeling of pride that swelled within him at the Chief's acceptance. 

Suddenly, the door to the nurse's office swung open and the two medics stepped out. The Chief was the first to speak.

"Well? Is she going to be okay?" The medics exchanged a look.

"She'll survive. However, she's going to need to stay here for a few days so that we can monitor her and make sure she's stable." There was a collective sigh of relief from the four officers. 

"You can all go visit her now, but please try to stay calm. It will do Officer Sinclair no favors to elevate her heart rate." With this, the medics bid them all a good afternoon and left for the breakroom. Kieran felt his heart quicken and he bolted through the door. 

Lauren was sitting up on a cot towards the far end of the room, blankets drawn up around her. She was in a loose white cotton t-shirt and black pants, what Kieran assumed to be her workout gear. 

The Chief, Lieutenant and Sargent were quick to join Kieran in the doorway. Lauren's gaze swung from the window over to them, and she gave a weak smile, her red hair pooling around her shoulders. 

"Hey guys. Sorry for the-" She was cut off by Kieran's sudden movement. Before she even had the chance to blink, he had crossed the room and pulled her into a hug. To his immense surprise and pleasure, she hugged him back.

"Never scare me like that again," He whispered in her ear, so that only she could hear him. She gave a sharp intake of breath and he squeezed tighter. Lauren chuckled softly and it was music to his ears.

"While I appreciate the concern, Kieran, would you mind watching my stitches? They're still a little-"

Kieran jerked back and searched her face for any sign of pain.

"Oh, Lauren, I'm so sorry I-"

"It's fine. Really Kieran." The two partners looked at each other, one with concern, the other with forgiveness. Will, Kym and Tristan moved to Lauren's bedside, breaking Lune's focus. Will was the first to speak, and Lauren's eyes filled with a steely determination at his words.

"Oh god Lauren. I'm so sorry. That bullet was meant for me, you shouldn't have taken it. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I was stupid, I-" 

"Will. If you think that there was ever a chance in hell that I would stand by and watch another friend of mine get hurt, then you really are stupid."

The two old friends stared at each other and some sort of understanding seemed to pass between them. Will nodded grudgingly and sank into one of the chairs beside Lauren's bed. Kym crawled onto the cot next to Lauren and leaned into her shoulder.

"I'm really glad you're okay, Laur." Kym muttered.

"I'll bet you are! Who would do all your paperwork if it wasn't for me?" They both laughed and Will shook his head with a fond smile. 

"You two are too much." 

"Damn right we are!" Kym laughed, taking pride in her status as resident agent of chaos. Behind him, the Chief cleared his throat and Kieran stiffened. Tristan came up beside him. Lauren met his eyes.

"Uncle, I'm sorry. I only meant to-"

"Don't apologize, Lauren. As much as I wish you hadn't been shot, and as much as I am frustrated with your reckless behavior, I'm proud of you. Don't do that again, though! You scared me half to death!"

Lauren laughed and pulled him in for a hug. 

"No promises, Uncle." Tristan settled into the chair beside Will, and Kieran took a seat on the edge of the cot, his hand resting absently on Lauren's ankle. To his surprise, she did not pull away from his touch. The interaction did not escape Tristan's gaze.

"So… Kieran tells me that you two are dating?"

Lauren's head jerked up and she rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Um, yes."

"It's alright Lauren. In fact I'm happy for you! It's good to hear that you finally managed to find a date that wasn't entirely disastrous!" All five officers laughed at this, Lauren's extensive history of failed dates being common knowledge among them.

After a while of talking and catching up on what happened on that day's chaotic patrol, Tristan got a call on his radio and had to leave for a meeting in the Seventh Precinct. 

"Alright everyone, take care! Lauren, I'll stop by again soon to see how you're doing." Lauren nodded at this and the two hugged goodbye. Soon enough Kym and Will also had to go to complete some work in the office upstairs. 

"Oh, before you guys get to work, would you mind bringing down the stack of paperwork I left on my desk? I was planning on finishing it this afternoon and I don't want to fall behind." Her three friends stared at her in shock.

"Lauren! You were just shot in the gut! There's no way we're letting you do paperwork right now!" Kym exclaimed.

"Well someone has to do it, I might as well!" 

"No, Lauren. Kym and I will handle it. You need to get some rest. And if I hear that you've left this bed before the doctors clear you, so help me, I will have you off patrol for an extra week." Kieran felt a surge of appreciation for the Lieutenant at his statement, even more so when he continued.

"White, why don't you take the rest of the day and watch Lauren? I'm sure the Chief would appreciate it." Kieran nodded.

"And if she tries to do any work, you have our permission to lock her in here!" Kym added. Lauren gasped in mock offence. 

"Traitors!" 

"Rest well, dearest Lauren!" And with that, the Sargent and the Lieutenant swept out of the nurses office. Lune was alone.

"Alright well, now that they're gone I'm sure you can just sneak out the back-" Lauren began, only to be cut off by Kieran grabbing her hand from where it rested beside her and pulling it in towards his chest. There was a desperation in his eyes that she hadn't seen before.

"What's wrong with you? What were you thinking? You could have died! You can't do that, Lauren! You can't do that to me!" Kieran heard the crack in his voice but he didn't care. Lauren stared at him in shock.

"I mean if something ever really did happen to me you could just buy a polygraph, Subordinate-"

"You really don't get it, do you?! Lauren, I thought you were gone! I thought you were going to leave me! You can't leave me, Lauren! You can't! Not like that. Please." The Purple Hyacinth wasn't supposed to beg. Yet here he was. A single tear rolled down his cheek and sank into the soft sheets of the cot. Kieran flinched. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried. "Please Lauren."

She stared at him. 

"I… I'm sorry Kieran. I won't leave." He pulled her hand closer to his chest.

"Promise me."

"I promise, Kieran." 

Never in his life had Kieran been so relieved by a simple sentence. He let out a shaky breath and looked down at the rapidly drying teardrop. There was only one, but for him, it was a river. He refused to release her hand. Suddenly, she lurched forward and pulled him into a hug. It was soft and warm and his whole world all at once.

"I promise, Kieran. I won't leave you." He returned the embrace, pulling her into his lap, feeling as if, should he let go, she would slip away, a wisp of smoke in the air. He buried his face in her hair and allowed himself to fall backward on her pillow. He pulled her down with him and she lay across his chest, the two partners still locked in their embrace. For the first time, Kieran had no urge to draw, no itch to find a pencil and capture an ever fleeting moment of humanity. He didn't need to. He held his humanity in his arms.

\-------------------------

Kieran jerked awake to the soft sound of birds outside and a strange weight draped across his chest. He looked down to see the deep red of his partner's hair and he pulled her tighter to him. The events of the day prior flooded through his mind and he glanced down to check Lauren's stitches. He didn't see any fresh blood, so deduced that her stitches had held through the night. He let out a sigh of relief and relaxed back into the pillows. 

Kieran wanted to be surprised at himself for falling asleep on Lauren's cot in the nurse's office, but he couldn't find it in himself to be. Had he not been dragged into unconsciousness with Lauren in his arms, he doubted he would have been able to do anything at all during the night besides sit in his anxiety at her bedside. 

He smiled lazily down at the woman sleeping on top of him and allowed his thoughts to wander. He knew from Kym and Will that the thieves hadn't been apprehended, occupied as the patrol unit had been with Lauren's injury, and Kieran had never felt such a strong desire to hunt someone down before. His anger, however, would have to wait, as he refused to risk waking Lauren.

Kieran was pulled from his thoughts by the quiet creak of the door and his head whipped to the side to find Tristan Sinclair entering the room. Kieran met his eyes from across the space, and was suddenly very aware of the position he was in.

"Chief Sinclair! I can explain-" 

Tristan waved Kieran off with a smile.

"Not to worry, Mr. White. I am aware that you spent the night. Honestly, I appreciate it. I would have been more worried had she been left in the office alone overnight."

"You… knew?"

"Hmm? Oh yes. I stopped in yesterday evening to see how she was doing and decided against waking either of you. You both looked rather comfortable," Tristan replied with a chuckle.

Kieran laughed nervously as the Chief crossed the room to the bedside and began flipping through Lauren's medical file. Once he seemed to be satisfied with what he had read, he returned the file to its place on the bedside table and turned back to Kieran with a strange look on his face.

"Is something wrong, Chief Sinclair?" Tristan startled out of his thoughts and smiled.

"Oh not at all. I'm just… not quite used to seeing Lauren so relaxed. She's not really one for taking breaks. Or sleeping, for that matter." Tristan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "She's going to run herself into the ground, one of these days. She must really like you, to be so comfortable around you."

Kieran felt heat rise to his cheeks and looked away. 

"Alright then, I suppose I should be going now. Please let me know if something changes with her condition."

Kieran nodded and Tristan turned to leave. He was halfway through the door when he paused, and found Kieran's eyes again.

"You're a good man, Kieran."

The door shut softly behind him, leaving La Lune alone. Kieran felt as if he had been punched in the gut. He looked down to the woman he held in his arms, seeming so fragile, so different from her usual intimidating presence. 

If only Tristan knew who he had been talking to, who held his niece so firmly in his arms. Kieran was not a good man. He knew this. But, he couldn't help but hope, maybe with Lauren, he could become one.


End file.
